The failure of Trump's government shutdown

U.S. President Donald J. Trump (L) and Jackson County Sheriff AJ Louderback (R) participate in a roundtable discussion on border security on January 2019. The partial government shutdown, which is tied for the longest in U.S. history, has affected about 800,000 federal workers. EFE/EPA/SHAWN THEW

Since President Donald Trump decided to shut the government down in December, thousands of U.S. citizens have been the direct victims of this reckless decision.

Trump's intentions in refusing to approve bipartisan proposals to finance the government that didn’t include money for his wall were based on maintaining supposed popular support he had received for fulfilling his campaign promises.

For his advisers, to give in would portend defeat in the 2020 presidential elections. The reality is that his decision has been more than counterproductive.

According to two polls released on Sunday, most Americans blame President Trump and Republicans for the partial government shutdown is now the longest in the country's history, having lasted 22 days, forcing hundreds of thousands of federal employees to go without paychecks.

Though Trump insists on blaming Democrats for not financing his wall - and, therefore, for the government's shut down - it seems that the country will not be fooled so easily this time.

Data compiled by CNN, the Washington Post, and ABC News over the first days of the new year showed that around 50 percent of the country blames Trump for the government's shutdown, as reported by Talking Points Memo.

Similarly, most respondents said they disagreed that the situation on the border constitutes a "crisis."

However, this has not been reflected in the president's popularity.

Numbers shared by the New York Times showed that Trump's insistence on orchestrating a crisis, closing the government and pushing for a border wall, is not about acquiring new followers but about maintaining his loyal base.

While it is true that "the wall has always been unpopular," its support "is closely related to support for the president," the Times explained. "Overall, polls show that it consistently tracks just a few points beneath the president's approval rating, and support for the wall is almost exclusively confined to voters who already support the president."

At a time when Trump has an approximate 41 percent approval, the insistence on a border wall does not ensure a victory in 2020 but, in fact may hurt his chances of re-election.

Added to this, an analysis of Standard & Poor's Global Ratings determined that the U.S. economy has lost $3.6 billion “because of the ongoing partial government shutdown,” and if extended, this could reach 5.7 billion - that is, the same amount that the White House has demanded to build its wall, according to US News & World Report.

"The loss of productivity from furloughed workers is a direct hit to the economy, though the shutdown has also caused significant indirect cost,” the report explained. "Companies, hotels and restaurants around closed or neglected national parks and monuments may be experiencing a dip in revenue. [Government] contractors have needed to remove staff as well, leaving private employees without work with no chance of getting back the lost pay."

It seems then that this presidential tantrum has not only been ineffective, but has confirmed that under an incompetent government, chaos is the only reality.